This invention relates generally to manure spreaders, and specifically to apparatus for protecting and supporting the forward end of the wooden floor of a manure spreader.
Manure spreaders generally consist of an open-ended spreader box into which material, such as manure, is loaded for subsequent unloading and spreading, a conveyor within the spreader box for advancing the load of manure rearwardly toward the open end, and a beater mechanism located at the open end of the spreader box for spreading and distributing manure stored therein over the ground. Generally speaking, the conveyor comprises a pair of spaced apart endless chains supported at each end of the floor and joined together by a multiplicity of angle-iron slats extending transversely across the floor. Through a power transfer mechanism, the chains are moved lengthwise around the floor of the spreader to engage the material in the box and transport it toward the spreading mechanism at the rear end.
Though many other materials have been tried, spreader floors are most often made of a wooden material. Wood can be treated to withstand the acids and liquids encountered in machines of this type, and also have less tendency to adherence by frozen manure. The wooden floors may be either single or multiple sheets, or may comprise a multiplicity of side-by-side planks extending lengthwise from the front of the box to the rear.
Because of the type of environment in which manure spreaders are used, it is not uncommon for one or more of the angle-iron slats to become bent during use. A bent slat is a very serious problem, especially when the floor of the box is made of wood. More specifically, when a bent slat is moving from the bottom of the floor around the front toward the top, it has a tendency to engage the front edge of the floor and either break the floor through splintering or jam the drive system and cause damage to the conveyor itself, or both. The invention to be described below substantially eliminates this problem and additionally strengthens the support of the forward edge portion of the floor.